The Republican Party of Arkansas, which was beaten decisively in last year’s election, needs to dedicate itself to running next time on an anti-tax, pro-highway and pro-education agenda, its new chairman said.

Bryant businessman Dennis Milligan also said the party faithful need to run for more local offices.

Milligan said former Gov. Mike Huckabee appointed many Republicans to the state’s boards and commission during the past decade, and they would be excellent candidates for local government offices, such as prosecuting attorney, sheriff and quorum court or city council members.

“If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves,” said Milligan, who also is chairman of the Saline County Republican Party. “If you develop a good solid county Republican foundation, then the top is going to take care of itself.”

Milligan promises that under his leadership the party will be active statewide.
“We are not just going to be sitting here in the city of Little Rock and hoping the best for Boone County, Columbia County, Benton County or Desha County,” he said.

The GOP’s State Committee promoted Milligan from treasurer to chairman on May 19 to succeed Sen. Gilbert Baker of Conway. He said the party hasn’t focused enough “on getting the candidates to step forward to run.”

“I am very proud of what we have accomplished, but anything can be improved,” said the 49-year-old owner of Water Treatment Services Inc. who attends The Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock. Huckabee attends the same church.

Last November, the Republicans lost control of the governor and lieutenant governor offices and three legislative seats to the Democrats. The Democrats now control the state’s two U. S. Senate seats, three of four congressional seats, all seven state constitutional offices and 102 of 135 legislative seats.
But Milligan is a bit of an unknown in some political circles.

Ten days before Milligan was elected as the party chairman, a staunch supporter of former state Sen. Jim Holt of Springdale warned fellow conservatives that Milligan wants the party to run away from its core social issues.

“That philosophy is just as absurd and dangerous as [U. S. Senate Majority Leader ] Harry Reid’s public statement that we’ve already lost the war in Iraq,” retired Jonesboro teacher Debbie Pelley wrote in an email that she said was distributed to thousands of conservatives in Arkansas.

“Taking that stand will do nothing but guarantee defeat,” she declared.
Milligan said Pelley misinterpreted his remarks that he wants the party to focus more on fiscal issues. He said he doesn’t intend for the party to abandon social issues at all.

“To say that Dennis is not a social conservative is misreading his record, his campaigns that he has run, and it is taking a couple of statements where he said, ‘We need to focus on other issues,’ and totally twisting those statements and [making ] him look like something he is not,” he said.

In 2002 and 2004, Milligan narrowly lost the District 29 state House race to Rep. Janet Johnson, D-Bryant.

Pelley said the problem is the state GOP is run by businessmen who balk at financing the campaigns of candidates, such as Holt, who represent the values of the Republican base.

“I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but we got more votes than any other Republican who ran for statewide office last time,” Holt said.
Still, he said he wants to help Milligan be successful.

Last November, Holt lost the lieutenant governor’s race to former Clinton administration official Bill Halter by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent, after falling short of knocking off U. S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln in 2004.
Milligan described himself as both a fiscal conservative and social conservative.

“I am a pro-life individual. I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I am opposed to homosexuals adopting children. We are talking Dennis Milligan the man, and that isn’t necessarily the view expressed by every Republican, but those are my views.”

As a businessman, Milligan said he probably “brings to the table a little more concern about our taxes, our growth, our jobs.

I am just really caught up in trying to do and be part of anything that we can do to encourage job growth here, because obviously the more people we have working... the tax burden decreases for all of us.”

Milligan said he hopes to persuade Republican candidates to run for office under the broad goals of cutting taxes and stopping tax increases, improving highways to promote economic development, and finding ways to more efficiently spend tax dollars on education.

“That is just something near and dear to my heart, and I hope to be able to get the current legislators and candidates to maybe buy in on that. Again, it’s very basic,” he said.

This year, the Democratic dominated Legislature approved about $ 200 million a year in tax cuts and bolstered state funding for the public schools. Last week, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state is providing an adequate and equitable education to public school students, ending a 15-year-old lawsuit.

Milligan said it’s a legitimate goal for the GOP to strive to increase its number of House seats from 25 to 30 in next year’s elections. Republicans lost several close races to Democrats last November, he noted.

He said he hasn’t ruled out running next year for the District 29 seat, which is held by Johnson, who is barred from seeking re-election under term limits.
Gwatney, a former state senator, said Republicans will have a hard time winning 30 House seats in next year’s election.

“At the end of the day, [Milligan ] is going to have to deal with a popular Democratic governor, whose agenda Arkansans identify with, and people are going to want to be part of Gov. Beebe’s team,” said Gwatney.

Milligan said that Beebe is a talented and experienced politician.

“If you give me a $ 900 million surplus, I probably could make things look pretty good,” he said, referring to the state’s projected surplus of $ 919 million by the end of this month.

Milligan said Beebe enjoyed “a great honeymoon” in this year’s legislative session. “Next time around will be a little different story. We’ll find the real capabilities of Gov. Beebe probably the second time around,” he said.
Beebe replied that it’s a challenge to be governor and vowed to “meet the needs of the people. We will underpromise and overdeliver just like we have and restore the faith of the people .”

Milligan said he’s talked to several possible candidates for Pryor’s seat so far.
He declined to take a stance on President Bush’s latest immigration bill.

“That is between the president and Congress, and I am just going to let them hash it out and work it out,” Milligan said. “I just think that is something for probably smarter people than me to figure out. It is a tough situation either way, but something definitely needs to be done.”

He said he’s “150 percent” behind Bush on the war in Iraq.

[I]“At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001 ], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country,” Milligan said.

He said he’s not supporting any particular Republican presidential candidate in next year’s primary now that he’s the party chairman, though he contributed to Huckabee’s presidential campaign before he was elevated to the chairmanship.

“I am happy for any of them that are putting their name on the line and running,” he said, “and I certainly wish Gov. Huckabee the very, very best.”

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/191942

What kind of thinking is this? Backward @ss leadership from the republicans once again

drumcorpssnare

06-05-07, 04:06 PM

JETDAWGG- Your thread title makes it sound as though Milligan "hopes" America will be attacked again, by terrorists. And of course what he is actually inferring is this: When America is attacked again by terrorists (and it will be) all the spineless, whimpy, limp-wristed, pasty-faced, liberal, tree hugging, cowardly sissys will maybe wake up, and realize they should have listened to President Bush in the first place.:evilgrin:

drumcorpssnare:usmc:

Dave Coup

06-05-07, 06:48 PM

More Liberal twisting of what was said.

10thzodiac

06-05-07, 09:46 PM

JETDAWGG- Your thread title makes it sound as though Milligan "hopes" America will be attacked again, by terrorists. And of course what he is actually inferring is this: When America is attacked again by terrorists (and it will be) all the spineless, whimpy, limp-wristed, pasty-faced, liberal, tree hugging, cowardly sissys will maybe wake up, and realize they should have listened to President Bush in the first place.:evilgrin:

drumcorpssnare:usmc:

I'd be very suspicious of a home-land terrorist attack leading up to the '08 presidential election.

Not good for America, Democrats or Al-Qaeda. Guess who it would benefit directly and indirectly ? http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/11.gif

Remember where you heard it first !

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire)

greensideout

06-05-07, 10:08 PM

Jet and 10th, if you want to talk the dems and repubs why not go to a political site?

jetdawgg

06-06-07, 04:48 AM

This is a political site. The Marines fight due to the politics of the USA.

Drums if that is anyway to appreciate a president we are in big trouble. Why should civilians have to die or get hurt for that reason?

This guy is clearly displaying the twisted logic of the republicans that has this country in bad shape. Deficit, war, big government, jobs going overseas, immigration....plenty of more problems and no answers or worse answers like this....:usmc:

drumcorpssnare

06-06-07, 10:04 AM

10thz- An attack on America, by Islamic terrorists, would benefit only the bad guys...directly or indirectly. It would not "benefit" GW as you seem to be inferring.

jetdawgg- I'm not saying Americans should "appreciate" our President. But there are times to set aside the BS, and at least listen!!!
Gen. Billy Mitchell warned the Democrats in the late 1930's - "The Japanese Navy will attack a U S Naval installation in the Pacific, without warning...probably on a Sunday morning." No one listened, and we all know how that one turned out.

drumcorpssnare:usmc:

10thzodiac

06-06-07, 10:35 AM

Jet and 10th, if you want to talk the dems and repubs why not go to a political site?

Was it the in-direct thing http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/06.gif you know our alleged ME allies using a False Flag operation ?

On June 8, 1967 the USS Liberty (AGTR-5) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_%28AGTR-5%29) was surveilled and attacked in international waters by units of the Israeli Air Force and Sea Corps. Evidence exists supporting the allegation that the attack was an attempt to draw the United States into the Six-Day War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War). Thirty-four American crewman were killed and 173 were wounded in the attack.

Sgt Leprechaun

06-06-07, 01:18 PM

Oh, please.

I can provide plenty of NON leadership examples from the dems since, and prior to, 9/11. The list is long and endless.

And, quite frankly, why do you care what the Arkansas republicans say or do anyway? How do they affect you?

I'd be more concerned with socialism closer to home, in the great commie city of NYC. Those people scare me far more than some Republican in Arkansas.

Dave Coup

06-06-07, 02:50 PM

Jet: So what is the answer? The Dems haven't demonstrated that they have one. As to big government social welfare, which shouldn't be, but is, is one of the biggest problems of government.

jetdawgg

06-07-07, 11:44 AM

How about the truth from the start? Thats always a good foundation. This war was started on lies and even if the truth is being told now, it is not credible.

Sgt Leprechaun

06-07-07, 11:58 AM

Ah, yes, the same old lines, recycled over and over again.

The dems are no longer (if they ever were) a credible party on this issue, since it is driven more by hatred of Bush than anything else at this point.

I have yet to see a 'credible' democrat.

jetdawgg

06-07-07, 12:04 PM

Jim Webb:

http://dailygotham.com/files/jim.webb.wins.jpg

greensideout

06-08-07, 11:07 PM

This is a political site. The Marines fight due to the politics of the USA.

This is a political site NOW because some have made it so and others have allowed it to happen.

Having been in the Corps you may remember that what you think really doesn't matter. You are talking to Marines, not an easy crew to sway.

I could give a rat's a** who is running for office as all of them have little more then their own interest to serve. So it follows that the Party Of Choice is a stupid choice as they both bring the same results.

jetdawgg

06-09-07, 09:51 AM

Green that is why we need more Marines in office so that things get done.:usmc:

America needs all of us now more than ever

Dave Coup

06-09-07, 11:13 AM

You mean like Murtha cut off the troops supplies thereby reducing thier ability to fight thereby ending the war? That's what we need alright.my azz.

jetdawgg

06-09-07, 11:27 AM

Dave far from it. Only the republicans made that claim regarding Murtha. Oh yeah and the FOX Noise Channel

That picture is much funnier than the bag on the head pic you posted jet...

But if you are going to mock repub's like that you should add the hillbilly behind the sheep...

Yeah... America loves Murtha's little temper tantrums . Yeah right...

Nobody wants to see their "leader" waving his arms and crying and screaming like a little baby... well maybe the left does....

OLE SARG

06-10-07, 05:11 PM

"Murtha’s cynicism is matched by an alarming ignorance about conditions in Iraq.” A VERY TRUE STATEMENT ABOUT sagging ass murtha!!!!!

ms murtha needs to get back to the resthome and soak his head, I mean feet!!!!!!!!!! The traitor, ole SOB!!!!

SEMPER FI,

huey guns

06-11-07, 12:14 AM

I see that 10th and jd get their morning briefing from the clinton staff,

Sgt Leprechaun

06-11-07, 08:46 AM

Webb's credibility, in my eyes, took a dive when he accepted support from the likes of the party of clinton and gore. However, that being said, I would be more willing to pay attention to his thoughts than I would, say, murtha or others of his ilk.

jetdawgg

06-11-07, 10:55 AM

SGT Lep, Senator Webb clearly defeated a racist opponent in Mr. Allen. That type of leadership America can and will do without.

Sgt Leprechaun

06-11-07, 11:23 AM

Racist?????

Like, the Senator Byrd of WVa kinda racist, or the Sharpton/Jackson kinda racist?

I can't get youtube; all I see is a picture of a guy (I guess Allen) dressed in a really farby looking Confederate getup.

I guess, then, I'm a racist too, since I'm a Civil War reenactor (Confederate...most of the time...but do the yankee bit when needed).

On that same vein, I swear I've met more "Confederates" from New York, Pa, New Jersey, etc, than in the south. It's very bizarre.

Anyway, if that is the only basis for being a racist, then I guess I'm in the same crowd. Although my uniform looks better.

jetdawgg

06-11-07, 12:48 PM

Mr. Allen clearly labeled a man in the crowd at his gathering a macaca. Which means monkey or the equivilant of the 'n' word in some languages.

His wearing of the confederate uniform has less to do with his racism that the dialog in August 2006.

Mr. Webb, a Marine, put him into retirement

Sgt Leprechaun

06-11-07, 12:55 PM

Ahhh, I recall that incident now. Considering 99 percent of Amurkans never even heard of that word prior to that, I can't get excited about it, either.

I think Webb got in on the 'hate Bush' coat tails, but time will tell if he is right for the people of Va or not.

jetdawgg

06-11-07, 01:05 PM

Someone did hear of that word and it sent Mr. Allen packing:D

Good riddence.

Mr. Webb will prove do credible job. He came from nowhere to kick Mr. Allen in the @ss along with 34 other of his republican members

Sgt Leprechaun

06-11-07, 01:13 PM

I think it was less 'the word' and more just general disillusionment with the Republican party as a whole. Allen wasn't a bad Senator, but his campaign sucked, big time.

Webb didn't 'come from nowhere' as if he's a 'Mr Smith goes to Washington' type; he ran a great, effective campaign, which was heavily influenced by the hard core left wing elements in Northern Virginia, (limosine liberals) in Fairfax, Loudon, Arlington and Prince William Counties.

jetdawgg

06-11-07, 01:21 PM

Mr. Webb's campaign started from the grass roots (netroot liberals) and then gathered monies as it proved credible.

Mr. Allen was part of the 'do nothing' republican led congress that we Americans were fed up with. We are still fed up with the war mongering wasters.

Mr. Allen is a racist. Good riddence and good for Va to rid themselves of him.

Sgt Leprechaun

06-11-07, 01:33 PM

Man...broken record....

I need that bumper sticker. "PROUD JINGOISTIC WAR MONGERING WASTER!"

Put it on the back of my F350 King Cab Dually.

jetdawgg

06-11-07, 02:59 PM

Man...broken record....

I need that bumper sticker. "PROUD JINGOISTIC WAR MONGERING WASTER!"

Put it on the back of my F350 King Cab Dually.

http://web.media.mit.edu/~stefanm/images/bumper_sticker.jpg

:D

Sgt Leprechaun

06-11-07, 03:06 PM

Hahahahahahah!

Actually, I just use the dually for my farm. Too expensive to drive, otherwise.

My other 2 vehicles are a chevy caprice and a chevy blazer.

jetdawgg

06-11-07, 03:13 PM

Hahahahahahah!

Actually, I just use the dually for my farm. Too expensive to drive, otherwise.

My other 2 vehicles are a chevy caprice and a chevy blazer.

http://www.rides-mag.com/DONK/cars/1989.Chevy.Caprice.jpg

http://www.studentevent.se/upload/flak/monster.jpg

The Monsters:D

OLE SARG

06-12-07, 10:15 AM

NOW we have a "do nothing" democratic led congress and the American public if fed up with them already. It is funny how you can change the name of something and it doesn't change a ******* thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Their ****ing politicians - 'nuff said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEMPER FI,

jetdawgg

06-12-07, 10:18 AM

Agreed. Let's send in the Marines to clean that place up:D

FistFu68

06-12-07, 10:55 AM

:evilgrin: YEA,AND YOU MY MARINE BROTHER;CAN BE THE POINTMAN!ON THE PUBLIC REALATION'S,INITIATIVE;ON THIS MISSION BECAUSE YOU ARE SO WELL VERSED.OH TALKING BULLCHIT,JETTLAGG!!!(LMFAO):D :iwo:

Actually, I just use the dually for my farm. Too expensive to drive, otherwise.

My other 2 vehicles are a chevy caprice and a chevy blazer.

My last big gas guzzler was a '87 Chevrolet 10 Silverado Suburban with a forty gallon tank, I use to fill it up twice a week in my service business. The '83 my son wrapped around a tree, what a way to wake up http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/30.gif

Yesterday after ten days of driving 72 miles in my '04 Toyota, Corolla I top off at Sam's Club with three gallons ($3.45 gal.). The pump said $73.00 from the prior sale http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/34.gif

My daughter parked her Ford Mustang convertible and is now walking to work. My Marine 3rd cousin is a iron worker building a bridge in St. Louis and it cost him $150.00 a week to go back and forth to work.

My son and his associate just purchased Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS's and not only are they saving gas [money] and time in their service business they threw away their maps. It's the same business that I used up to 80 gallons a week in the Suburban.